


Made of Clay

by StarshineSy



Category: Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
Genre: AU, Abuse, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/F, Forbidden Love, Found Family, Growth, Heavy Angst, Historical, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Overprotective, Personal Growth, Role Reversal, Rumors, Sneaking Out, Star-crossed, also a lot of spite, and this does end with the characters growing and changing in a way that probably wouldnt happen, basically i want it to be VERY clear in these tags that this does take place in the 18th century, but i want to keep my viewers safe, but there are references to corporal punishment and the like, but unlike the original story, earn the yearn, hell theres a lot of thinks that wouldnt happen, hopefully that is the right tag, i may be ignoring some details due to a lack of information on 18th century germany, i want to make that very clear this is a very uncomfortable story, its likely not as bad as my tags make it seem, just a lot of angst, maybe not the most graphic but its there and thus ill warn you, so basically i am giving you a lot of warnings because i care about yall, star-crossed lovers, this was originally called the dumb gay son au and that is still true, we learning and growing, why the hell isnt there a tag for abuse in the archive warnings, with a mix of pure gay chaos, yeah theres a gore section here and there
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-16
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2020-09-02 09:38:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20273815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarshineSy/pseuds/StarshineSy
Summary: Doctor Adam Frankenstein had finally perfected the secret to bringing humans back to life. He creates a lad named Victor who despite being an intelligent young creature, can't help falling head over heals for the first young man he meets. As Victor tries to meet the man he loves, Adam does his best to keep his unstable invention contained. No matter the cost.A reverse AU featuring a lot of dunking on book Victor.





	1. Chapter 1

The Frankenstein Manor was empty once again. Robert Walton went out to sea and wouldn’t be back for months, leaving Adam Frankenstein alone. The manor became lifeless save for the very small amount of servants, keeping the manor upfloat. Yet Adam liked it this way, he may have missed his dearest Robert with all of his heart, but he found comfort in his solitude. And during these months of isolation, a plan was to be born. Now, Doctor Adam Frankenstein was a man who was glued to his work, his constant scowl and rare appearances made him the talk of Ingolstadt. Being an extremely tall man at 183 centimeters tall, having odd scars one could only catch a glimpse of, and having long barely kept black hair did not help his case either. One could only guess what was going on in the recluse’s home. Was he having an affair with his wife? What was he hiding in that home? Even children thought he was evil, likely kidnapping people and torturing them. Yet not matter what the rumor, nothing could compare to the truth.

Adam had studied for years, both during and after college, one of the biggest taboos in medical history. The idea of creating life out of once was. This idea was absolute madness, and if any person knew of it, he would be disgraced for sure. But defying death was an experiment so enticing, even serious, scowling, Frankenstein became too interested to resist. Yet he knew better than to discuss this idea with fellow Doctors or Scientists, being seen as a madman was not worth the slim possibility of gaining help in this endeavor. Adam knew that no matter what, he could only reveal the outcome of years of studying after everything was complete, and if anything went wrong he would take it to his grave. If the experiment failed, he would be disgraced for even trying such a thing and for defiling a deadman’s grave. If his creation became mad and ran off? He would surely be punished for even bringing such things into this world. He had to make sure that if anyone were to know of his momentous achievements, everything needed to be perfect.

He had to be smart.  
He had to be calculated.  
Nothing could go wrong.

Years of studying were finally going to be put to use in the upcoming summer months. And a plan was being hatched to make sure everything goes perfectly. Find someone with no nearby family, hopefully no family at all. Find someone no one cares about. After all, panic would ensue if a popular figure or an old family member was seen walking around once again, Adam had to make sure whoever he creates would just be another citizen in Germany. And a large step to avoiding his creation being possibly too familiar to dead relatives or the like, was to get the body he needed, out of the country. If he got his base from the city, it would become instantly apparent something was up, and any face no longer recognizable, would be too decayed to use.  
The main problem was transporting the body back to the manor if he truly did travel out of the country. It would take about 8 days without stopping on coach to get to italy, and 8 days without stopping to get back. Yet one didn’t have to go too far from Ingolstadt to get results. If he left early enough and paid the driver well, he could get to Regensburg and back in only 3 days total. One to get there, one to rest, and one to get back. It wasn’t the best of ideas, but finding a coachman willing to make the short trip wouldn’t be impossible. Especially if Adam promised to pay well. Yet how would he get a corpse from one town to the other without even the coachman knowing, no amount of money would stop rumors from going about. As the first day of the trip was planned out, Adam had to think fast before he ran out of time. He had an idea, a very sickening one, yet better than bringing a coffin in a coach. All he needed was an axe, a suitcase, and some perfume.

While he was waiting for the days where he would depart to get his body, he spent the time preparing for the transportation of said body. The suitcase was an old one, one he didn’t care for; it was large enough to hold a person if stored right, yet small enough to seem like an average trunk. If he made the simple claim of it being work related, having a trunk for your supplies and clothes wasn’t anywhere near out of the question. The axe was an old spare in the garden shed, strong and sturdy enough to be perfect for the job, but old and used long enough to not be suspicious if lost or thrown out. Of course buying an expensive lavender perfume caused some questions, after all buying a lovely and expensive gift out of the blue would make any clerk just a hair curious. Nothing was wrong with small talk, anyone would just assume it’s for his wife.  
“Oh! Doctor Frankenstein, a lovely choice you made there, is it perhaps for someone… special?”  
“Yes. It is.”  
He wasn’t wrong of course, that someone special may be a corpse, but it is still special nonetheless. Only he needed to know that though.

The suitcase was packed and ready to go the day of the grave-robbing. It was a simple plan, keeping rags and spare unwanted clothes in the trunk along with the axe, a few other minor tools, and the perfume. Come back with a flower scented case. Adam was always a very firm man so he can easily assert his want to carry his own luggage and thus not have anyone suspect anything of him. All according to plan. Now all he needed was a newspaper, not only to entertain but to read up on any recent deaths in the area. When the night of the trip came, Adam was very adamant about how short this trip would be and that he would carry his own luggage. His stern tone was not unheard of and thus his coachman thought nothing of it. Perfect. Now all he needed was a person to use as a base. It didn’t matter much who, as long as the person was dead recently and wasn’t well known, it was fair game, if necessary he could always use more than one person. Whatever he made, whoever he made, didn’t matter much. Adam had found the secret to creating life, he was finally able to test his years of hypotheses. He may have planned out every step, forbade any mistakes, but even he couldn’t contain his excitement. Though what was about to happen was less than ideal, in the end something groundbreaking was going to happen.

It was the dead of night, no one was around, but this didn’t mean Adam can linger around. He couldn’t go from grave to grave as if he was window shopping, he had to go to a specific target. Had to get this done before dawn, before he left. As he headed down the rows of graves, he had one man in mind; a man not much older than himself named Hans Eichel. Eichel had been listed in the recent deaths columns, making him a simple and quick target to get to. Though anyone who could afford to be placed in the papers may have been too recognizable, Adam assured himself that maybe he could change the face a bit. Yet something else caught his attention as he searched for the grave. He passed by the myriad of wooden crosses, all marking someone too poor to afford a proper headstone, and there was a new one. Not worn down by the rain and snow. An unmarked one. Well almost unmarked, all it had was a date of death and the name “Unknown”. Only a few days ago… How odd. How sad. No one seemed to know or remember who this was. And they were just as dead as Eichel… No. No, no, no. Adam had a job to do. he couldn’t waste any time on a gamble like this, and yet…  
No one would miss them, would they?

Before he knew it, his shovel was in the dirt. A named man was too much of a risk to dig up. Whoever was bellow this cross was likely a key to success. An unknown grave meant an unknown person. No one could identify them in life or death. Every time the shovel broke through the ground, that key to life itself was slowly getting closer.

Adam’s heart stopped when he saw the coffin.

The coffin was small, and though it could have easily been a malnourished man, or a very small woman, Adam’s hopes didn’t grow higher as he opened the casket. There was a boy, no more than 16. He was small, skinny, and filthy. Heaven knows what caused his untimely death. Dread filled the air. Adam knew that the soul of this child was gone, this was just a body. Whoever or whatever he creates will not be this child. Yet no matter how much he rationalized it, he knew what had to come next. He reached over and slowly opened up the suitcase, he wrapped his nicer clothes in a rag and set it aside. The perfume was laid gently in the grass, the rags and older clothes next to it. Adam rolled up his sleeves and grabbed the axe. It was going to be worth it in the end. Wasn’t it?

The first swing, was the hardest part. Adam would have let gravity do the work here, but now was not the time to risk mistakes and possibly ruin the body, although he would fix it, and would need to fix up the skeleton anyway, it wasn’t worth it to create more work. The sound of bones snapping and a blade hitting wood was more than enough to make anyone’s skin crawl. But Adam couldn’t stop. He wished he could. He wished he didn’t have to do this, but time was short. Thus the job had to be done.  
Adam became more and more filled with regret. He knew in the end this would be beneficial. He knew this body was just a shell. It couldn’t feel pain. He knew. But he felt. After this night though, never again.

He grabbed his clean change of clothes and quickly got out of his bloodied outfit. Along with the rags and other old clothes, started to wrap up the pieces of the body. This was also going to ruin his suitcase, but that was the last thing on Adam’s mind right now. Each time he wrapped things up he added a drop of perfume on it, to mask the smell. Carefully adding each part to perfectly fit in the case, doubting that the small spray of perfume would work though, he dumped a small amount of the fragrant mixture into the case when all put together. Using the last of his rags to clean his hands, Adam took ever small step to make sure no signs of the crime he committed remained. The very last of the perfume was used to mask any smell on himself, and as he closed the case, he took the last of the rags, the bottle, the axe, and threw them into the coffin. He grabbed the shovel and started to bury it all again. Leaving the grave as it was before, just without the body. 

Before he knew it, the sun was already coming up, it was time to head back. The coachman was staying at a simple local inn as Adam insisted he went to his location alone. It wasn’t odd to refuse to stay at the same inn with someone who worked for you, what may have set off any suspicion is refusing to be picked up, insisting he walked back to the coach himself and they leave immediately. With these orders by the time Adam had arrived at the inn, his coachman was ready to leave. With no time to waste, the coach was loaded up and they headed off back towards Frankenstein Villa. The scent of lavender filled the air on the ride back.

He arrived back at the Frankenstein Villa late in the afternoon, without a second thought he headed to his lab, ready to start the project. Months of work were ahead of him, there was no time to waste.

It was a late August night when “Victor” was finally finished and ready to be brought to life. The name, Victor, was chosen not only because Adam was fond of the name, but he felt it was appropriate for a creature that would conquer death itself. Months of hard work were spent on making his creation perfectly healthy, even if it meant sacrificing a few other aspects. This creature may not be a beauty, but it wasn’t created to be perfect, it was designed to be human. Adam planned out everything when it came to Victor. He was to keep his small size and he was to lack strength, for if he were to become violent or rogue, it would be easy to take him down. No deaths were to come of this project, and Adam wanted to make sure no harm would come to anyone. It took an eternity to get every little detail right. Every stitch in it’s perfect place, every bone where it should be, every last detail as perfect and human. Flawed, but in a beautiful way. From the small stature of his creature to the imperfect eyes that called for eyeglasses, every detail and flaw planned out.

In the warm August night, the creation would be brought to life. Rain poured outside, furiously tapping the windows.Thunder roared violently. Wax from a nearly burnt out candle, dripping onto the floor. The lab being lit up only by the Lightning in the sky. It was time to give this creation a spark of life. To bring months of hard work and isolation to life. Giving the spark of life to a being has always been indescribable, some see it as a lightning strike. Bold, fast, exhilarating. While others might see it as no different than when cells first form in the womb. Subtle, slow, and yet just as breathtaking as a shock of lightning. No matter how one saw a beautiful, impossible to describe event, one thing remained universally true.  
The creature, Victor, opened his bright amber eyes.

Frankenstein had done it. Years of research and months of hard work, successful.

It was all worth it in the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will explain more about Adam's living situation in the next chapters, mainly from a more victor based point of view, for now though, hope you enjoy the idea of a teenager being cut up with an axe.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get a look into Adam's life and relationships.

From the journal of Adam Frankenstein

_ It has been one week since I brought Victor to life. I believe that, despite my planning, I was not yet prepared to care for a living being. I have yet to get proper clothes for him, until I can find a way to get at least a properly fitting shirt and breaches. We will have to settle with keeping on my old clothes, that are much too big for him, with a strap. I would personally get something tailored for him, or even possibly do it myself, but Victor is a handful to say the least. You never truly realize how much common sense you’ve learned over the years until you try to teach it to others. By now it’s simple to myself and anyone else that touching a hot stove is painful and it is best to avoid it. Being forced to explain it really shows how many basic ideas you had to learn as a child. Victor lacks control, just a day ago i had attempted to cut his hair, only for him to run across the manor and cut off a large chunk with a pair of herb scissors he found. What was supposed to be a simple trim became an afternoon of trying to keep him still as i cut down his hair to the part he cut. At least it saves time from cutting his hair as often in the future. _

_ The stitches I gave him were only supposed to be temporary, but I truly have underestimated the foolishness of my own creation. Only a few were removed and replaced with bandages, a few more had to be fixed or added. I have already done multiple tests and he does in fact respond to pain, yet he continues to grab dangerous objects or eat sharp inedibles. I don’t believe even an infant could be foolish enough to grab a rose stem with full force, Yet Victor surprises me. _

_ My next step is to educate Victor in German, although he seems to understand me, he lacks the ability to speak or even write. Communication has been hard, but we’ve been making do with body language. _

  
  


Adam sighed as he closed his journal, he placed his pen to the side and slid the journal into the shelf above his desk.The books that sat neatly on the shelf had a light layer of dust, having not been moved in the last few months. It truly was difficult to get a moment to himself, even to write or simply tidy up his work space. He constantly felt the need to monitor Victor, keeping track of his physical and mental health. Giving no time for himself the second Victor was woken up to the second he went back to bed. So every moment before his creation got up he savored to himself. He looked at the clock. 5:30. Only about an hour and a half until he had to wake up Victor for the day. More than enough time to clean the house.

Adam got the supplies he needed out of the closet, he was used to doing these chores later in the day, but now with an unstable creature in the house it was better to get them done when he didn’t have to look after his creation. It was odd for a nobleman doing his own housekeeping instead of having servants, but to Adam it was just chores. A simple thing to do in the day. He had always been one for solitude and saw no need for servants to do simple work for him, as he could do it himself. It kept him away from anyone’s judgement. Away from the harsh eyes that watched his every move. If it were up to him, he would be sailing the sea with his dearest, but life had other plans.

Being born into a noble family, it was difficult to live this life of solitude as the eldest and only son of the Frankenstein family. When you’re the eldest, you have the highest expectations on you from birth. You are to set an example for your younger siblings and you are to keep the family legacy going. No nobleman would allow his only son to live off in the woods alone, it was absolute stupidity. And thus, as most nobles did, His family arranged a marriage for him. like most noble marriages, not out of love, but out of politics. To keep the family name and title. The title was the most important. Wasn’t it? Not happiness, but reputation. Politics. To keep your title and history clean and tidy, all nobles had to do it, why must you complain so much about it? Most nobles dealt with a lack of love, they had to learn to like each other, and the few who did like who they married were very few. Adam didn’t want to live out a miserable life with someone he couldn’t love, and neither did his wife.

Elizabeth Lavensa was also opposed to this marriage, why wouldn’t she be? Nearly any woman forced to marry a stranger just so she wouldn’t end up in a poorhouse would be upset. Elizabeth refused to get along or even interact with Adam unless it was necessary, and though many men would oppose this little “protest”, Adam felt the same. Why should they be married and forced to have children together just to make their families happy? They wanted more out of life. And they found true love along the way. Why would they try to get along when they could see the people they loved instead? And that’s exactly what happened.

After the wedding day, Adam and Elizabeth both took different ends of the house. Elizabeth taking the largest area including being in charge of all servants, as Adam kept insisting on getting the smallest portion, small enough for him to clean and do his research in, as well as a section of the garden. He wanted to be alone, no servants to bother him or his work. Elizabeth kept their reputation up, working to keep everything in order so she could live the best life with the person she loved. Luckily with Adam’s work as a doctor, it was far less work to keep things in good shape. The house was closed to the public, the only opened during any rare event that had to take place at the manor, other than the rare occasion they had to pretend to be a happy couple, they kept their distance.

Elizabeth fell in love with a woman, her family’s servant and little brother’s nanny, Justine Moritz. It took a bit of convincing but she soon left her position as a nanny and became a maid at the manor after the marriage. So Elizabeth could see her every day, and they could be together with little suspicion. It wouldn’t be a lie to say that Adam was envious of their relationship, As Robert constantly went out to sea and left Adam alone. He truly did wish he could see him everyday. 

Now Robert Walton was a fine man and a good sailor, causing a lifelong friendship and relationship with Adam after attempting to flirt with him at an Italian port. His wavy brown hair and sun-kissed skin were burnt into the back of Adam’s mind. The way words rolled off his tongue, and his stupid British accent. It drove Adam crazy to think about Walton, but it was a good kind. A welcome kind of crazy. He may have been used to Robert leaving, but it always broke Adam’s heart to watch him go. The letters he always got helped, but truly weren’t the same as Robert being there. Adam’s mind kept racing and thinking about Robert, his warm smile, how he smelt like the sea, the way-

BING BONG

It was 7 already. Adam finished up the last of the dusting and put the cleaning supplies away before heading upstairs to wake up Victor. He went up the stairs to the small bedroom by his office, gently knocking before entering. Just as he thought, his creation was still deep asleep. He walked over to the large window and opened the curtains, flooding the room with light. The window looked over the beautiful garden Adam had worked so hard on since he got it. The sun was bright and beautiful and as Adam took a second to appreciate it, someone else did not feel the same. Victor grabbed his pillow and put it over his head as he turned in his bed. “Good Morning.” Adam said softly as he went over to get his creature out of bed. Victor responded with a grunt. 

“It’s time to start the day, we have a lot to learn today.”

Victor responded with another grunt and by curling up in the bed.

“Victor.”

But Victor did not respond, as he wanted to go back to sleep. Adam on the other hand wasn’t having this, he walked over to the bed, scooped up the boy, and stood him up. “We have too much to do today for you to go back to sleep, now come on. It’s time to start the day.”

He took one end of the bed, as Victor took the other and they tucked the blankets into place, fluffed the pillows back to their fluffy selves, and smoothed out any large wrinkles. To many, it seems silly to make a bed, and Victor agreed with this idea. He was just going to get into it again that night, why put in all this effort for something that will be slept in later that night. The soft knock at the side door interrupted their chore, however. As someone was at the door. 

“Just my luck… Victor, get dressed and stay upstairs please, I need to answer the door.” As Adam walked out of the room, Victor fell back onto his bed, messing up the work they just did for a few moments of extra sleep.

At the door was Adam’s faithful student, Henry Clerval. Henry was a kind boy, training to be a doctor under the acclaimed Dr. Frankenstein as he wanted to help others. He was a smart lad, caught on to many subjects faster than most adults and never got in trouble. And though Adam had not seen him in the last few months, this was not an opportune time to see his student, as Victor didn’t quite understand the concept of the situation he was in. Any creation like him, found by the people of Ingolstadt would be horribly killed, and though he didn’t believe Henry had a mean bone in his body, he couldn’t risk frightening him. He knew his young friend was understanding, and although one cannot just reveal a reanimated corpse to a teenager, he could at the very least, alert him of Victor’s presence. He quickly opened the door, shocking his young friend. 

“Ah! Sir, i mean Dr. Frankenstein! It’s very good to see you.”

“Henry what are you doing up so early? And why did you come here?”   
“Pardon me if this is rude, but it’s 7:30. That’s not too early at all. But I came here to check on you! Elizabeth told me every time I visited that you were busy working on something, it was starting to worry me.”

  
Adam glanced towards the stairwell, he thought to himself that Victor would have likely fallen back asleep by now, his laziness might pay off for once, getting rid of the risk that he would come downstairs.

“Come in, I’m still busy today but at the very least I owe you an explanation.”

Adam let the red haired lad into the manor. “I apologize for any mess.” He said as he lead Clerval down the spotless hallways to his study. “Take a seat please, would you like any tea, Henry?” 

“No thank you Sir.” Henry took a seat, Adam sat across from him. “Have you been alright? What have you been working on, if you don’t mind me asking?” Henry looked very excited to hear of this project.

“I can’t give you the details as it is still a work in progress, but I've been working on new surgery techniques. Truly innovative, but still experimental.” Adam said. He knew that ‘surgery techniques’ was a horrible way to describe Victor, but he couldn’t just tell this young man he made a boy out of a corpse.

“You have? That sounds amazing Sir, do you think it could help a lot of people?”   
“It could. But for now it’s too risky.” That was one way to put it. “But I won’t bore you with the details, there are other things to discuss. Now Henry, I’d also like to alert you my new ward. He’ll be staying with me for a while and you may bump into him here and there.”

“A new ward? What’s his name? Will I be able to meet him soon, sir?”

There he was again with the sir. 

“I’d prefer if you two stayed away from each other, he has his own work to do, and you have studies to complete. I don’t need the two of you getting distracted.”

“I understand.” Henry looked a little disappointed, but that didn’t stop his gleeful attitude with just a short change of subject. “When do you think i can continue my studies again, sir?”

“It has been a while, I hope you’ve been keeping up in your reading. I don’t need my best student falling behind.” Adam smiled, a rare sight for most but he enjoyed being around Clerval and his merry attitude he brought with him.

“I’m you’re only student Sir.”   
“And I’d prefer you didn’t fall behind.” he chuckled.

“Well don’t worry Sir! I’ve been keeping up in the last few months, if anything I might have read ahead.”

“Well don’t get too far ahead, I don’t need you surpassing me already.” Adam smiled, How did he survive so long without Henry? He was a brilliant student and seeing his potential shine through was a sight to behold. “Now, I suggest you go back home for the day and come back tomorrow, I apologize for not being able to see you for long today, but I still have work to do. Say Hello to your father for me.”   
“Will do, thank you for having me over, Sir.”

“And thank you for coming over today.”

Adam walked with Henry back to the front door, “I hope you have a good trip, Henry.”

“Thank you sir, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

As Adam closed the front door with a sigh, he went back up the stairs hoping to wake up the sleeping Victor. But as he went up, Victor peered out from behind the bottom of the stairs, as he looked up at his creator who did not notice him, an odd feeling came over. He looked at the door, curious. “Henry…” He spoke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we are about to get into the YEARN and the GAY. It may not be the best set up, but there was a lot TO set up here.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy birthday Mary Shelley. I got this chapter done for you.

From the journal of Victor Frankenstein:

_ It’s been exactly one month since I’ve been stuck in this dreadful place. Isolated from the world. To never know true happiness. Tis a sad life, but even worse is my isolation from meeting the one person who visits this place. My creator has been starting to take his student, the beautiful Henry, outside to study the herbs. So I presume. I have yet to be allowed outside, and though I assure my creator my creator that I’ve been making excellent progress on my German and my body has been healing nicely, he claims that I keep getting injured. It’s not my fault those knives were so poorly hung. I’ve never been truly able to live, sometimes I wonder if my heart is even beating. But today, I am going to change that. I will, at the very least, go outside. And all I need is my words. My plan is simple, just ask. All it takes is a bit of clever thinking to get what you want. Though I may not meet Henry today, I will at the very least get out of these depressing halls for a day. _

Victor closed his journal, shoving it back in his nightstand drawer before digging out the pocket watch he found in Adam’s room and checking the time. 6:57. Only a few minutes before Adam would wake him up for the day. He put the borrowed watch back in the drawer with the journal before crawling back under the warm blankets. He let his tired eyes fall as he thought about what exactly he was going to say. Adam was not a stupid man, so whatever he had to say must be at the very least reasonable. The distant chime of the clock’s bell signaled that the day was to start, he let his drowsiness take over in an attempt to appear asleep. It wasn’t long before he heard a soft knock on the door as it opened. 

“Time to start the day, Victor.” 

His voice was soft and soothing, as it had always been. Victor always found it odd, after all he was always a very serious looking man, yet he had the voice one would use to speak to a small rabbit. It seemed to only be around himself and Henry though. The curtains opened and light flooded the room, despite only faking being asleep, Victor couldn’t resist pulling the pillow over his head. It was just too bright. “Come on, you should be used to this by now.” Adam went over and picked the boy up out of bed. “You know the routine by now, come help me make the bed.” Victor hated being picked up, it made him feel even smaller, but it was best to not complain to get on Adam’s good side this morning. As the two made the bed together, Victor decided to ask his question. Better to get it out of the way before he was even dressed for the day, right? “Adam?”

“Hm?”   
Here goes nothing.   
“May we have our lessons outside today?”

“... Victor, you know-”   
“I understand it’s dangerous for me to go out to town, but the garden is walled off. No one will see me and besides, It’ll be much easier to figure out the difference between Sage and Thyme if I could see the two for myself.”

Adam gave out a heavy sigh.

“As long as you stay in the garden with me, then you may go. I don’t want any runaway attempts like last time. I don’t need to be stitching up more knife wounds.”

“I promise you, it won’t go anything like last time.” Victor knew it was impossible anyway for it to go like last time, after all there are no knives in the garden.

Adam went towards the door. “Get dressed and come downstairs for breakfast when you’re ready. There’s a lot to learn today.” He left and closed the door behind himself. Victor stood for a moment, before falling back onto the bed and ruining the work they just did. Finally! He was getting out! It was only the garden, but at the very least it was a step towards getting out of the same daily rutt. Adam may have enjoyed predictability, but Victor couldn’t stand it. Life seemed to be unpredictable, why should he be forced to the same schedule every day? He got himself up and dressed up in his normal clothes, a simple shirt and a comfortable pair of breaches. It wasn’t as comfortable as the oversized mess he wore for a week or so, but it was a hell of a lot nicer to look at. He rolled up his sleeves, showing off the scars and bandages he had. he knew no one important would see them, so why deal with long sleeves that get in the way of everything when he could just keep them up. Besides, it prevented his clothes from getting so dirty every time he got a cut on his hand. It may have been a month, but even “perfect” creations such as himself aren’t immune to accidents.

He practically ran down the stairs, excited to finally go outside. He rushed to the door to the garden, the morning light shining on the dew covered roses, he put his hand on the door-

“Breakfast comes first, Victor.”

He really didn’t want to wait a second longer, but breakfast is breakfast. He went back over to Adam, who was holding a tray. “Why isn’t the food at the table?” Victor looked confused. It was always set up at the table whenever he came downstairs. 

“Well, there’s a table outside, isn’t there?” Adam hummed. Victor’s face lit up as he went to the door and held it open for Adam. 

The morning sun shone on the two of them, warming up the cold morning as they sat at the small outdoor table. Breakfast was simple, an egg on toasted bread with herbs, but even the most simple breakfast tasted like a king’s meal in the outdoor air. Victor enjoyed every second of that breakfast, leaning over slightly on the table to feel the sunshine on his face, and Adam adored seeing how happy he was. “I should teach outside more often.” he said, Victor snapped back up to his normal posture, trying to seem formal. “Ah- well- yes please. I quite enjoy it out here.” he stuttered out. Adam laughed to himself, taking the dishes once the two were done. 

“I’ll take these back into the kitchen, try to not get your clothes too dirty.” As soon as Adam left, Victor melted into a pile of laughter. He didn’t know why, but he was so happy. He fell onto the soft yet wet grass. The morning dew sticking to his hair as he just took it all in. the smell of the cold september morning, the sounds of the birds waking up, he couldn’t control his happiness. He just felt it. Who cared if bugs got in his hair, or if mud got on his clothes, this was more important than appearances.

“Are you Doctor Frankenstein’s new ward?”

Fear shot through Victor. He quickly sat up, looking at who was speaking. It was him, Henry Clerval. “I- I- Um- Yes!” he stood up, looking at the boy. Henry was looking over the wall, likely standing on a rock or a stone that stuck out, after all there was no way he was that tall. Victor’s face turned a bright red as he tried to fix his damp hair. “I-I’m Victor.” He made his way over to the wall, at least he was until he slipped in a mud puddle. Henry gasped as Victor fell face first to the ground. 

“Are you alright?!”

“Never better.”

Victor looked up, his shirt and his face may have been muddy, but he didn’t care… Actually, he did. This was Henry he was in front of, and this was beyond embarrassing. He got up and went over to the wall, grabbing onto some of the ivy and hoisting himself up. “U-um… I’m Victor.” 

“Henry. Henry Clerval.”

He knew already, but hearing the name from his mouth, it felt so special. Henry looked down and fiddled with his bag before handing Victor a handkerchief. 

“You got a little something on your face.”

“T-thank you…” Victor took it before wiping some of the mud off his glasses. Henry smiled at him.

“What brings you to the manor, Victor? Why did Doctor Frankenstein take you in?”

A curious type, wasn’t he? Before Victor could answer, the door to the manor opened.

“Victor!”

Henry jumped down, “Ah! I’ll see you later, the Doctor doesn’t want me to talk to you!”

Victor smiled. “I’ll see you too-” his grip slipped, and right onto the prized roses he fell. Henry gasped, and was scared to look after hearing the horrific CRUNCH of the roses.

  
  


Victor sat on the lab table he grew too familiar with. Glancing at all the medical equipment he did not trust around him, As Adam patched up and dug out the many thorns left in him from his fall. “I leave you alone for no more than 5 minutes, and you fall onto my best roses while trying to escape. You’re lucky that it was just thorns, there are many dangerous things you could have fallen into.” Adam scolded as he pulled out a small branch and bud from Victor’s back. Victor flinched from the pain.

“I wasn’t trying to escape, I was just trying to look over the wall.”

“Sure you were. Now do your best to hold still, this is going to hurt a little…”   
Victor suddenly shot up as another thorn was dug out of his back. Adam pet his hair gently to try to comfort him.

“Let me guess, I’m no longer allowed in the garden?”

“You’re allowed in the garden if I'm there with you.”

“Wait, so i can still go outside?”

“Victor, you were clearly happy to go outside and it’s much healthier for you to be able to run around. I’m not going to keep you trapped inside just because I was foolish enough to leave you alone.”

Victor couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt at that. ‘Foolish enough to leave you alone’? What was that supposed to mean? The words churned his stomach, more so than the constant pain of having thorns pulled out of his backside. Victor couldn’t help but feel silenced by that, something about it felt awful. Adam had started working on patching up the damage left by the roses, most were minor and could be left as is, and others just needed a bit more clean and care. And though he was focused on making sure Victor couldn’t be used as a colander, the sudden silence of his creation didn’t go unnoticed. Yet just as he was about to break the silence, the sudden sound of knocking at the door caught his attention.

“Stay here please, I’ll be back in a moment.”

As Adam left the room, the sound of knocking on glass startled Victor. He looked up to see Henry besides the glass ceiling of the underground lab, pushing aside the overgrown plants left over from months of neglect to get Victor’s attention. Victor quickly got off the lab table and buttoned up his shirt out of Henry’s sight, keeping his scars and bandages from his initial creation hidden away. Small bandages on his arms were one thing, but large surgical scars were sure to raise more than a few questions. Once Victor was dressed up enough, he got on top of one of the counter tops, being sure to avoid disturbing any lab equipment as he opened the window. 

“Henry, what are you doing here?”

“Well, I couldn’t help but notice that you’ve been here for a few weeks now and I’ve never seen you leave the mansion at least once.”

“That’s because I haven’t. Adam won’t let me go out.”

“I know, and that’s why I’m here.”

Henry reached his hand out to Victor, who was now very shocked. From what he had seen and heard about Henry, he was such a good lad. Always on time, always got his work done, never a hair out of place… yet here he was, inviting Victor to sneak out. Victor of all people, a peer he had only met 10 minutes ago. If they were caught, the two of them would be in huge trouble, Victor would obviously get caught. He was already in trouble, Adam would probably keep a much stricter eye on him. If he was already in trouble, then why risk making it so much worse? An hour of fun with someone else was not worth this, was it?

Victor took his hand. 

Henry helped lift him out of the lab, being sure to close the window behind them and put the plants back. “There. We’ll have about an hour or so before Adam notices.” Henry smiled and looked back at his friend.

“An hour? What do you mean, he’s going to notice I’m gone as soon as he gets in the lab again.”

“Not quite, I left him a letter at the door. It’s going to keep him occupied for quite some time.”

Henry took Victor’s hand again, silencing the flustered boy from asking any more questions.

“Now let’s go! I’m sure you’ve never been around town before!”

The two were soon past the fence of the estate and on the road to Ingolstadt. Though Victor felt this pit in his stomach, this dread of what could happen when they get caught, it soon melted away as he joked with his new friend. Henry told Victor so many things he never knew, from street foods they could get, to the city’s wonderfully large library and college. He always wanted to sneak out, to discover the world for himself, but the more and more Henry described it, the larger everything seemed. There was so much more out there than he thought. For hours a day he’d sit down and study, learning all there is about the history before his existence, and though he was always told the world was so large, it almost always felt as if he could just walk down the street to Austria. That France was just a carriage ride away in his mind. But seeing the long stretch of road to a small city, seeing how long it took to just get into town. Victor just found it eye opening.

They soon got into town, the dirt road leading to the streets of Ingolstadt. Lively. Beautiful. Victor had never seen this many people in his life, he didn’t even really know there WERE this many other people. His excitement and joy was cut short as Henry asked one simple question. All the colors and sights, smells and sounds, all of them were cut short by this one question.

“Victor, you act like you’ve never been in a town before, much less a city. How long have you really been inside that manor?”

Henry meant no harm, why would he? Victor was a new friend, someone he could enjoy being around and showing around the area. He’d never want to hurt or harm his new friend. But this question burned into Victor’s head. He had been told since day one that people would despise him if they knew the truth. Knew where he came from. How he came to be. He had to think of something, something fast. The last thing he’d ever want is to push away Henry, cause him to hate Victor… They only knew each other for less than an hour, how could he be already so attached. As Victor’s mind raced around, fearful of what could happen, he came out with the best answer he could think of.   
  
“Well, I’ve only been in it for a month before Adam took me in, before that I lived at a farm, far in the country.” 

Was this really the best he could think of? It wasn’t the worst of answers, far from it compared to his other choices, but couldn’t Henry just see right through it? Victor’s heart pounded in his chest, never had he ever been in such a terrifying situation. A cloud of guilt and anxiety loomed over his head. Though Victor expected his cleverness to come through, to call him out in such a lie, he was surprised at what he got. Henry’s kindness had shown through, and instead of yelling at him, calling him a liar, he looked concerned.

“Oh! You must be really overwhelmed by all of this, here, i know a very calm place you might enjoy.”

This was so confusing to Victor, weren’t people supposed to be scared of him? Supposed to destroy him on the spot? It felt as if no one cared about his presence… only looking at him because of the mud all over his shirt from the fall in the garden. He was scared, yet… confused. All throughout his studies, he heard stories of man killing man for little reasons. Minor, silly things. But here he was, a creation made not by God but by another man, and he was only judged for the dirt on his face and the cuts on his arms. And though this lack of judgement was comforting in a sense, the murmurs through the crowds of the name Frankenstein truly shot fear into his heart. They had to have known, right?

Henry let him to a small store, as they entered he was surprised with shelves completely filled with books. It was calm and quiet in there, helping Victor fight his constant anxieties.

“This is my favourite store, I thought you might like it too since- Victor, are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m just a little anxious. People seem to be whispering about us? About me?”

“Oh don’t worry about it, that happens all the time. Dr. Frankenstein has a lot of rumors about him since he likes to stay at the manor all by his lonesome. I mean, just last week a child asked me if he ate the bones of naughty children. It’s ridiculous, and I guess there's rumors about me are because I’m the only one who ever gets inside that manor.”   
  


“So, it isn’t about me?”

“A few of them might be, after all you did come back from the manor with me. But they most likely aren’t. Just don’t worry about it, it’s all gossip.”

Victor felt his breath slow, his shoulders were less tense. Henry started to show Victor around the shop, they looked at books and talked for what felt like hours. Everything they enjoyed to read, what their hobbies were, foods they loved. Every second of their time in town was spent laughing with each other. Talking about everything and anything. Henry showed him the best maps of the country, pointing out all the places he’d love to go and explore. Victor found many books on subjects he had never heard of. Adam had an expansive collection of books, yes, but they were all informational. Medical books and pieces of history, yet here he found fiction. Fairy tales. Genres he had never heard of before. He found a lovely book he desperately wanted to read and keep for himself, it was called  _ The Castle of Otranto. _ Though he had no money to buy anything, he was far too shy to ask Henry about the book. After all, It’s rude to just ask for money from a new friend. He made a note to himself to come back for it another day, hoping that on that day Henry and himself could read it together.

After a long day together, they found themselves laying down by the road back to the manor. The gentle fall breeze and soft grass tickling their noses as they looked up at all the clouds in the sky. It was peaceful.

“I wish this day would never end…” Victor stretched out in the grass, ignoring any pain he still felt on his back. Henry nodded in agreement before checking his pocket watch. He quickly shot up in a panic.   
  


“Victor it’s been 2 hours, we need to get you back home!”

“Oh shit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Victor is a little drama queen


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Due to the extremely long chapter note and quite a bit of other factors, this chapter was cut in half and the later half was moved to chapter 5. Chapter 5 id gonna end up being like 10k words or so, so in the mean time, here is a thank you gift: https://painttoolsy.tumblr.com/post/189536692388

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to start this with a huge thank you, I never knew a fanfiction for a 200 year old book could be so well liked and my most popular work by far. Seeing fanart, kind comments, and so many kudos really just means so much to me! But of course, this note is not just a thank you, I just feel like I need to explain a few things.  
I have been struggling to continue this fic and I truly have been stuck on this chapter for over a month. Part of it is my poor sense of time. I honestly forget that I started this chapter back in late August/ Early October, I feel like I just updated it last week, but I didn’t. It’s almost been 2 whole months! But that is far from the main problem. The main reason I’ve been putting this off is because, like most creators of anything, my own expectations are too high. I have been setting very high bars that are putting me off of writing this. The first bar is my writing. When I write I tend to just dump every idea and word out like a giant pot of alphabet soup before editing it, well this way of writing has been bugging me lately because of the second bar I set. I want to stay accurate to the book in some ways. I know. I want to make this gay indulgence reverse au accurate to the book, and that isn’t going to happen. But part of me can’t shake the feeling that my writing is too… like my normal writing and not this beautiful prose. I can’t get over how different I feel like I made the characters. And of course, It’s super obvious that if you made Victor Frankenstein only a few years younger and a literal reanimated corpse and made his creature an actual doctor who put thought into making him, things are going to be different. They had different upbringings, that impacts a character, and I kept some small aspects that I enjoyed. And yet I keep feeling like my self indulgent romance fanfiction between Henry and Victor is not good enough. That any academic fan of the book would hate it. Where my reasonable side knows that I made this for me, this is my story I wanted to write for myself, I can’t help but feel like I am disappointing someone out there. To the point where I decided to personally change some minor details to make me feel less awful. And though I won’t go back and change the past chapters, if there is a minor contradiction from the first 3 chapters to the last 15, don’t be surprised.
> 
> And the final problem has been a major storyline. Even if I get past my feelings of inadequacy, I have been struggling to write a huge part properly and that is the abuse that takes place. You see, Victor and Adam are not good people. They weren’t good people in the book, and they aren’t very good people here. Victor was reckless, irresponsible, and foolish. Adam was hated by a world he tried to help and ended up becoming cruel and cold. Becoming the monster everyone made him out to be. That is a huge factor I kept in. These two, no matter the au, are not good people. Adam murdered. Victor let people die to avoid being seen as mad. If you’re reading fanfiction about this book, You all already know this. But this is a big part of the story. The true reversal here, is that the characters grow and change. They learn from their mistakes. They fix their behaviors and learn to become better people. Something that never happened in the original book because everyone died.  
What has been causing me to put this off was the uncomfortable feelings I felt. You see, to fix your abusive behaviors and to improve as a person… you first have to be abusive. I made it clear in the tags from the beginning and I tried my best in past chapters (that I rushed to be honest) that Victor is irresponsible, reckless, and foolish. And Adam is cold, overprotective, and doesn’t see Victor as a human.  
The biggest part of this story besides the yearning is the story of overcoming abuse and overcoming being an abuser. To learn and to grow. Half of the story really is dedicated to that, and to get rid of it would just make everything fall apart. My problem is, writing abuse is uncomfortable, as it should be. And though people I asked online have said that is normal to be uncomfortable writing uncomfortable subjects, I still can’t help but feel awful when I do. 
> 
> This whole note’s purpose isn’t for you guys to comment nice things, or even an apology for those waiting for this chapter, but like this fanfic, this note really was for me. I want to rationalize it with you. You guys have been supporting me and this really has meant a lot, and as much as I can sound like pbs, telling about how this fanfic was brought to you by viewers like you (thank you), I want you all to know why this took so long. This story was made for me, it’s all self indulgent. And finding out other people like it as well is amazing for me. So you don’t need to write a 2 page essay of a comment to make me feel better, because updating this chapter and knowing that someone was looking forward to it is more than enough.

“Where have you been?!”

Adam glared down at the boys, arms crossed and a fire in his eye. He gave Victor one simple rule and he goes and breaks it, with Henry no less. Words couldn’t describe the anger he felt, the betrayal from Henry and the disobedience from Victor. Victor was the first to speak up, doing his best to defend himself and Clerval, despite knowing it was not a very wise idea.

“Adam, we were just out downtown and-”

“Pardon me? Downtown?”

Victor knew he should have stayed quiet. Though he thought himself to be quite intelligent, words were still not his best forte. Adam started tapping his foot as he did his best to calm down and try to explain rationally that the boy’s trip was likely the most reckless and stupidest idea they had both had in a long time. Though calm was the last thing Adam was feeling right now. He was mad, disappointed, betrayed. His hard work ignoring the very rules he set and his own loyal student in on the act. Henry noticed the tension, and couldn’t allow Victor to take the full blame.

“Doctor Frankenstein, it was my idea, I was the one that convinced him to leave, I took him downtown. It wasn’t his idea.”

“I know Henry, I am no fool and I pray you do not take me for a fool. I gave you strict rules to stay away from Victor and allow him to complete his studies alone and yet you go and sneak him out. Both of you should have known better, Victor you were still injured and filthy when you left and Clerval you tried to deceive me with a fake letter. Don’t think I can’t recognize your handwriting, If you’re going to attempt to distract someone with a false letter, at least put in more effort to make it not as noticable. I’ve been worried sick for the past two hours, only ten more minutes out there and I would have gone out and hunted you down myself. I have half a mind to bend the two of you over my knee for this.”

As Adam kept scolding the boys, Victor felt a pit form in his stomach. He only just became friends with Henry, but he already couldn’t stand seeing him scolded over nothing. This was not something to yell and scold over, They had come back unharmed, albeit without notice and a little late, but what was the issue? The pit grew larger and larger the more he thought about it, causing him to feel angrier and angrier, but he refused to let it get the better of him. He waited, not listening to Adam but occasionally looking at his friend. 

“Henry, I would like to speak with you in private. Victor, please go to your room.”   
  
Despite the ‘please’, this was not a request; it was an order. Victor made his way towards the stairwell, giving an apologetic look to Henry as he left, Adam waited for the boy’s bedroom door to shut before turning to Henry, despite his anger he let his stern posture fade, directing his student to take a seat with him. As Henry reluctantly sat down, Adam let out a long sigh.

“Henry, why did you feel it necessary to sneak Victor out of the Villa?”

“Dr. Frankenstein, I just… I couldn’t understand why you would lock him in the manor like this. He said he had only been here for a month but during that whole time I had never seen him before. Never heard him or of him besides the day you first told me. If I, someone who often goes to your home where he lives, had little idea he was here until you told me, and even then rarely saw a sign of him, I worry how little he has seen of anyone else. I know I am just your student, but I worried that he had no friends, that he had never left. And I was right.”

Adam let out another sigh, leaning forward in his seat.

“I know you had good intentions, I don’t believe you could do anything wrong for the sake of doing wrong, but Victor is an... odd boy. He hasn’t had the same opportunities the two of us were lucky to have, and came from a place that was far different than our own. I appreciate that you were trying to help him, but he’s… to put it in very blunt terms, unstable. Not used to being around other people. So used to isolation that he can very easily get overwhelmed.”

Adam knew that this web of lies he was spinning was risky, but admitting the truth would get him thrown in an institution. As kind as Henry was, and as much as he deserved to know the truth, he could not admit the truth and thus picked the lesser of two evils.

“I can say when he gets more... social, I feel as if you would be a great influence. But sneaking him out of my lab was not a good first impression, the last thing I need is him trying the same thing again. For now, I ask you to leave him alone.”

“Alright sir.”

“Good. Now come with me.” Adam stood back up, guiding Henry up to his office. He took a seat at his desk, grabbing an envelope, parchment, and his pen. Writing down a letter as he spoke. 

“I may have lost my temper, but I was dreadfully worried. The two of you disappearing without much trace? A Spontaneous disappearance is not something I would expect from a young man such as yourself.”

“I know, Sir. I’m sorry.”

“Not only that, but if I was forced to get you, I would have to do it alone. Victor does not know any of the servants in the villa, I couldn’t rely on them for help.”

“It’s only going to town, S-”

“You know why I prefer to stay in the villa.” His voice lost its warmth when he spoke.

“Yes, Sir.”

“Good lad. Now,” Adam handed the now sealed envelope to Henry. “Make sure you get that to your father. He’s probably very worried about you now, you ought to head home.” And with that, Adam lead his student back out to the front door of the manor, waving him off as he left. Henry headed back down the dirt road, and Adam closed the door, giving a long heavy sigh. Leaning against the door he took a moment to think, trying to organize all the thoughts in his head. 

Adam couldn’t help but feel conflicted, Victor would need to learn to socialize. If he was truly to become human and accepted as such he needs to learn how to fit into society. Needs to learn to speak with others, show respect to elders, and make friends. But Victor wasn’t human. At least not in Adam’s eyes, or the eyes of the world. He was still a walking amalgamation of a corpse, prone to falling into prized roses and running off with boys he believed to be his peers. Adam already had to deal with society’s rejection. Despite being lucky enough to be born into nobility, and to marry into a family of high reputation, Adam still had to deal with his appearance and behaviors being hated by those around him. These noblemen surrounding him at parties, his fellow doctors, and even his own wife; None of them cared for him. At the very least, not to him. How could he ever allow Victor to risk his life so early in his creation?

Victor sat in his room, writing furiously in his journal. Though he knew why Adam was upset, he couldn’t help but feel as if this was all a huge overreaction. Sure, he snuck out, of course anyone would be upset if their rules were disobeyed. But Victor was not hurt by anyone he met, the worst he ever got was a few judgemental looks for his filthy clothes and cuts on his arms leftover from the fall in the garden. Why couldn’t Adam just see that? See that he was fine, that nothing went wrong and there was nothing to worry about. Victor put his pen down, closing the journal and placing it to the side. He felt frustrated. The entire month he was in this manor, all he had been doing is studying and staying inside, not allowed to pursue his own curiosity or go out and get to know other people. Just this day, he went outside for the first time and finally left the villa, but because of Adam’s anxieties he’d likely stay cooped up for far too long. 

A gentle knock at the door interrupted Victor’s thinking, as Adam entered. The room was tense, despite Adam’s anger subsiding the frustration in both of them still remained. He sat down next to his creation, pulling him into a hug. Victor had a lot on his mind, he had so much he wanted to say, but his mind fell blank when he felt the comfort and warmth of Adam. A familiar feeling. A safe feeling.

But something was off. This wasn’t the normal hug Victor would get if he was scared of a thunderstorm, It felt off. Almost like an apology but not quite. He just couldn’t put his finger on what was wrong. And as much as it soothed him, it wasn’t quite… right.

“Victor, I am not angry at you.”   
“You aren’t?”

This was a shock to him, after all only thirty minutes ago he was absolutely furious. Adam was ready to sit Victor down and lecture him the entire night and now he’s in his room, completely calm, and comforting him? 

“I’m not. I am very disappointed, but I understand that you don’t know any better. You’re only a month old, it is only natural that you-”   
  
_ There it was.  _

Victor ignored Adam as he continued to talk, he was too frustrated and angry to listen to the same damn thing over and over again. Victor was just as human as anyone else. He talked like a human, he walked like a human. He eats, he sleeps, he learns, he is a human. Victor was tired that the creation, the birth, he didn’t ask for was constantly being brought up. He was not just a pretty little doll for Adam to set on a shelf and show off to guests. He was not a toddler, throwing a tantrum. And he was far from the animal Adam seemed to see him as.

Adam kept explaining to his creation why he wanted to keep him safe. Why Victor needed to be careful, to think things out more. A very useful lecture if Victor was actually listening. But of course, he wasn’t. Instead he was letting every emotion and every little bit of anger stir in his head. He sat there, thinking about what he was going to do. Perhaps making his own choices will allow Victor to be seen as human? At the very least he could always just make Adam angry to prove a point. 

Now… Victor was a crime against nature, and yet a scientific wonder. He was smart, picked up on a language in a month and was already learning a second, excellent at reading, writing, and arithmetic. Despite Victor’s intelligence, and ability to learn quickly, he lacked common sense. And as most people would talk with their father figure; or at the very least during this century, obey them, Victor decided on a very unwise idea. To sneak out again.

For if Adam would not allow him to experience the world around him, he would have to take matters into his own hands.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Victor creates a series of convoluted and risky plans just so he may go on a date.

“_ I fear that my hubris has become my downfall. I became so focused on learning the secret of life, that I have likely cursed my creation to a life of misery. Victor is not a human, and he cannot hide this secret forever, people will notice how his scars do not fade, how his wounds do not heal, and they will reject him. It is still early in the experiment, and thus I can not tell if he will even age, and if my fears are true, then his socialization was a mistake. I have yet to decide what to do with him, he is intelligent yet lacks control. Victor will explain to me in detail about novels and poems he enjoys reading, but still struggles to understand that he can not grab a rose by it’s thorns, that he can not pick at his stitches and scabs, that he can not eat worms… _”

A gentle knock on the bedroom door interrupted Adam as he wrote in his journal, the gentle rumble of thunder outside bringing him back to reality as he had gotten lost in his work. He placed his quill beside his journal, before turning to the door.

“Come in.”

Victor opened the door, stepping into the room almost embarrassed. Adam knew exactly why, of course. For this had happened multiple nights in the past.

“Ah, the thunderstorm is scaring you again, isn’t it?”

“It’s not that it’s scaring me, it’s just so loud. I can’t sleep.”

“Of course it is.”

Victor wasn’t exactly lying about the noise, but of course the thunder scared him. It’s loud roars reminded him of something he did not remember, something terrifying and upsetting that he did not know of. He felt it was silly that he felt scared of something harmless, that it gave him a familiar and upsetting feeling he could not remember experiencing, but no matter how silly one knows a fear to be, it does not make one unafraid. 

“May I stay with you tonight?”

“Of course you may, Victor.” Adam responded, closing his journal once the ink dried and putting it away. This wasn’t the first time that Victor had to stay with Adam, though he was getting better at handling nightmares on his own, thunderstorms still scared him too much to sleep. As Adam cleaned up the small desk in his room, Victor had already crawled into bed, though not to fall asleep, for he had constructed a plan.

It wasn’t long until his creator had gotten into bed, first moving Victor out of the center of the bed so he was able to fit, and as he put out the bedside candlelight, Victor’s plan had been set into motion. Once he knew that Adam had drifted off to sleep, Victor crawled out of bed, slowly making his way over to the desk. Since he knew that Adam was a light sleeper, he did his best to open the first drawer on the right quietly, before quietly shutting it as what he was looking for was on the first drawer on the left. In the first drawer on the left was a key ring filled with all the different keys to the house, but as he opened the drawer further, there was a duplicate key shoved to the back of the drawer. He took it, making sure not to disturb the noisy ring in the process or while closing the drawer, and put the key in his shirt pocket. Victor made his way back over to the door, opening it gently. However, this woke Adam up.

“Victor? What are you doing?”

“I, uh, need to get a glass of water.” he lied. Adam just laid his head back down to go back to sleep, not bothered by the answer. Victor slipped out of the room, Grabbing the still lit chamberstick from his room first heading downstairs to see if he was correct. Down a second flight of stairs, Victor had stopped at a door, and slipping the key into the lock, he had his answer.

Victor now had access to the laboratory.

He stepped into the lab, still doing his best to stay quiet just in case Adam could hear him. The sound of heavy rain hitting the glass roof, muffling the small footsteps of the boy as he made his way around the glassware. The light bouncing off the reflective glass. Victor made his way over to a cupboard, opening it up and grabbing some medical supplies, simple things like bandages and tweezers, small things that wouldn’t be missed. As he shifted through the cupboard, grabbing the things he needed, a bright flash of lightning followed by the sharp boom of thunder scared Victor, nearly causing him to knock over the chamberstick and yelp out in fear. But he did his best to keep his calm and composure, as to not ruin his very risky plan in sneaking out. Victor closed the cupboard and took his supplies and chamberstick out of the lab, locking the door behind him so as to not cause suspicion. He snuck his way back into his room, hiding the stolen supplies in his closet before putting out the candle, and making his way back into Adam’s room. 

“Hmmm?” 

Adam was half asleep, woken up by Victor opening the door once again.

“I had my glass of water.”

“Alright then.”

Adam fell back to sleep, and Victor made his way over to the desk, opening the top right drawer once more, before closing it once again and putting the key away gently in the top left drawer. He couldn’t help but feel a little guilty for sneaking around behind Adam’s back, but if Adam was going to keep him from experiencing the world like any other human being, he thought that a few supplies that were to be used up anyway was a small price to pay over staying inside all day and learning about the economy. Another thunderous boom scared the boy, as he crawled back into bed with Adam. Feeling comforted by his company and safe from the storm, he fell asleep.

* * *

  
  


“Tonight? But aren’t you not allowed to leave the villa?” Henry looked at his friend, surprised at the question. The storm from the night before left the ground wet and cold, but the sunshine of the morning made the garden feel all the more welcome. Victor was sketching some pieces of bark he had found in his own journal, working on his life drawing skills as Henry read up on his studies at the garden table. 

“I’m not, but Adam is leaving the villa tonight, has some important business to tend to or the likes. I thought maybe I could use the opportunity to see you, we can go out to town and see the sights.”

“Victor, I don’t believe this is a good idea. I had a talk with Doctor Frankenstein after I snuck you out a few weeks ago… and I don’t want you to get in trouble again.”

“You don’t need to worry, as long as I get back before Adam comes back, it’ll all be fine. Besides, how can he know what’s best for me? Isn’t it better I get to see the surrounding area and meet people instead of being a recluse like him?”

“I agree with it being beneficial that you actually learn more about Ingolstadt, however I prefer you don’t go around insulting Doctor Frankenstein like that. He may prefer a solitary life, but he is still a very intelligent and kind man. Constantly helping others and being kind, despite some who are put off by his appearance.”

“Henry, I admire your kindness... but as his charge I will continue to speak ill of my guardian. I have to live with him, I have to deal with all those annoying quirks when you live with someone, and if he won’t even allow me to go outside, I will just let myself outside.”

“Victor once again, I strongly urge against this… but there’s nothing I could really do to stop you.”

Henry shifted a bit when saying that, he did feel guilty sneaking Victor out without knowing that it would be a problem, and he was lying. There were many things he could do to stop Victor, some as easy as just telling his guardian that he was planning to sneak out. Yet, he didn’t really want to stop Victor. Though discouraging him felt like the right thing to do, he did want to see his friend, he did want to show him all around the area, he did want to spend time with him. Henry also wanted to respect the words of his teacher. Wanting to not disappoint him any further or cause any harm to Victor by putting him in a situation he might not be ready for.

“He’s leaving around 6 o’clock tonight, so if you want to see me, then meet me in the garden.” Victor smiled at his friend, finishing up his loose sketch of the piece of bark as Henry closed his book.

“Victor, I think you should try to ask Dr. Frankenstein for permission.”

Victor paused. He had, of course, thought of the idea but it was far too likely that the answer would be no.

“I’ll try, but it doesn’t mean he’s going to say yes.”

“It’s not harmful to try besides, you never know, he could surprise you.”

* * *

  
  


“The answer is no, Victor.” 

Adam continued putting his coat on as his creation protested. 

“But why not? You’re going out on your own, so why can’t I go out too instead of staying inside like some sort of... small hermit man?”

“Victor, you’re still getting used to being outside in the garden on your own, I can’t just trust you to run around the countryside or the city alone. You could get hurt, and I would prefer that you stay safe here. Besides, you can handle a few hours being home alone.”

“But I can’t handle a few hours being outside alone?”

“Yes. Those statements do not contradict each other.”

As Adam finished buttoning up his coat, he noticed Victor turning away in frustration. Taking a moment to relieve the tension, Adam reached into his satchel and pulled out a present, handing it to Victor.

“I know staying home is going to be hard for you, but I truly do want you to stay safe. Since you talked about some of the books you wanted to read a little while back, I bought a few for you. In case you needed something to do while I was gone.”

Victor was very surprised to get the gift, as Adam was not the type to give spontaneous gifts. He looked over the brown paper and twine that covered what was obviously two books, untying the twine and removing the paper revealed a copy of _ Paradise Lost _ and _ The Castle of Otranto. _ Adam already owned a copy of _ Paradise Lost _ , for it was his favorite book, but Victor found himself reading it multiple times as well. Though not his favourite, he did enjoy and love the novel as well. _ The Castle of Otranto _ however was more of a surprise, he did mention it to Adam once things were less tense after he had snuck out the first time, but he didn’t believe that Adam would remember.

“I thought you might like them, since I haven’t gotten you your own books yet, I believed it to be a good idea to start filling your own bookshelf.”

“I… don’t know what to say, this is very kind of you…”

“No need to say anything. Just be good, I’ll be back later tonight.”

Adam gently ruffled Victor’s hair before heading to the front door, locking it behind him as he went off into the night. Victor looked over the books again, taking the paper and twining with him as well as he headed back up to his room. As he placed the two novels on his still empty bookshelves, a wave of guilt flooded over him. Could he really just sneak out? Betray Adam’s trust like that? Maybe for once he should just listen, obey and stay at home. Read his new novels and take notes of his favourite events. Maybe he could just go to bed early, or learn to make bread to surprise Adam with a gift, or even-

The rustling sound of plants outside interrupted his thoughts, he looked out his bedroom window to see Henry climbing the ivy on the wall. Victor had never been one to truly listen to those around him, had he?

Victor opened the window, looking down to his friend. “I’ll be down in a minute! The door to the garden and the front door are locked, I’m going to have to climb down.”

“Wait, Climb down? Are you sure about this?”

“No, but don’t worry, I’ll be completely fine.”

He turned to grab his own satchel, putting the stolen medical supplies inside of it before grabbing a scarf to put on. As he put on his scarf, he looked out to the trellis near his window, judging to see if he could safely make his way onto it. Slowly climbing onto the window sill, Victor reached out to his side and grabbed onto the trellis, starting to climb down. “I told you, everything would be completely fiNE-”

As Victor was climbing down, his foot slipped from the trellis and he lost his grip before he could attempt to regain balance, falling the last few feet directly onto one of the prize rose bushes below. Luckily Victor remained on his feet, grabbing onto the vines crawling up the framework and pulling himself towards them before falling back, unluckily for him and the roses, his foot landed directly on the thorny branches.

“Victor! Are you alright?” Henry rushed over, worried about his friend, helping Victor safely away from the bush. 

“Ach, I’m fine, I think a few thorns got my leg but I came prepared.” Victor pulled the bandages out of his satchel, making his way over to the garden table to take a seat and see the damage. As he pulled down his stocking and inspected it, Henry looked it over with him. “Here, let me help you.”

“That’s quite alright, Henry…”

“I insist, besides, you should probably get the thorns out of your shoe, that can’t be comfortable to walk in.”

Henry looked over the small cuts on his leg, helping bandage them up as Victor took the tweezers and pulled thorns out of his shoe. He couldn’t help but feel tense though, for among the small cuts the roses left were recent stitches and bandages normally covered by his stockings. Victor knew Henry would notice, and was dreading the moment he would bring it up.

“Victor, I don’t want to mean offense, but is there a reason why you have so many bandages? I wanted to ask earlier today because of your hand, but I thought it wasn’t appropriate to ask.”

“Ah, those are my doing, I am very prone to… accidents one might say. The injury on my hand was actually because I grabbed hot glass without knowing it was hot.”

“A lot of these look far too major to be such a simple accident though.”

“Now that is inappropriate to ask.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t push any further.” Henry handed the bandages back to Victor, who pulled up his stocking and stood back up. Henry felt bad for prying, and decided to speak up once again.

“I know a way to make it up to you, there’s this wonderful bakery that is still open around this time, if we head into town now I can get you something, my treat.”

“Are you sure? I could find a way to repay you.”

“No need, besides it’s the least I can do for my friend. Now let us get going, before Adam comes back and realizes that you are gone.”

Hand in hand, the two climbed over the garden wall and walked all the way to the heart of the city. Talking with one another and discussing things both important to each other and not. The bright lanterns lit up the city streets and the two boys soon found themselves sitting on the edge of a fountain, eating pretzels bought from Henry’s favourite bakery and laughing amongst each other over such silly things. Inside jokes were created, secrets were shared, and constellations were made. Any fear and worry between the two melted away as they sat by the soft sound of the fountain, the chatter of the town growing quieter and quieter as business owners went home for the night, and the faint sound of flames flickering in the street lamps lighting the cobblestone road. The cold of the night did not bother the two, as their company would be more than enough to keep warm.

The later the night became, the two started to return back to the villa, using their spare time as an opportunity to relax in the grass and look up at the stars. The grass was still damp and cold from the thunderstorm of the night before, but it did not stop the warmth of conversation from brightening up that November night. Making up their own stories about their own constellations as the clear sky was filled with millions upon millions of fireflies, fluttering around in space and lighting up the night and telling stories that connect us to our past, and our future.

The two eventually made their way back to the villa, Henry helping Victor sneak back into the garden as he stayed on the other side of the stone wall, before the two could part, however, they shared a hug.

“Victor, let’s do this again sometime, yes?”

“Of course! I even have a new book, next time you visit the villa we should read it together.”

“That would be wonderful.”

As Victor parted from Henry, he made his way back over to the trellis, knowing to be far more careful to avoid slipping on it as he climbed up, making his way back onto his window sill and crawling back inside his room, smiling at Henry as he watched him head back to his own home.

“Had a fun trip, did you?” a voice quickly cut the joy short. Victor slowly turned around facing his creator who was standing in the doorway, arms crossed. 

“Oh! Adam, ah… how long have you been back?”

“Long enough.”

“I was just in the garden-”

“The garden was one of the first places I checked, Victor.”

“Oh… ah. I see.”

Adam sighed in frustration, taking a moment to try to find the correct words to say. He walked over to the window, closing it and firmly shutting the latch to keep it closed, not saying a word to Victor.

“Are you mad at me?”

“Absolutely furious, yes. But even more so disappointed.”

“Can we… talk about it in the morning?”

“Avoiding the problem isn’t going to fix it, Victor. You need to learn that, and we need to have a talk. Now.”

Adam helped Victor put away his scarf and bag, tension filling the air as Victor felt like a swirling mix of feelings, causing him to feel ill. He asked again:

“Could we please talk about this in the morning? I feel Ill…”

Adam, however, had caught on to his creation’s behaviors. He was unmoved.

“If you don’t confront your problems, you are just going to make yourself feel worse. You need to learn your lesson and not worry yourself sick. You’re in trouble, yes, but that does not mean you need to make yourself sick so that you can face these problems later.”

Victor fell silent, looking at his feet instead of Adam. He felt guilty, betraying Adam’s trust, and yet he knew that he wouldn’t feel guilty at all if he wasn’t caught. Did he truly feel bad? Did he feel as if what he had done was wrong? Victor didn’t know the answer to these questions he asked himself. Adam noticed the silence, and though he wanted to comfort the boy, he wanted to make it clear that he was not off the hook just because he felt bad for getting caught.

“Come along, we can talk about this in the den.” He put his hand on Victor’s shoulder, guiding him downstairs and into the den. Despite how warm and inviting it was, it brought no comfort to Victor. He sat down on the chaise lounge, Adam beside him, doing his best to comfort the boy who was worrying himself to illness.

“Victor, I gave you one rule, one simple thing to do and you deliberately disobeyed me. All I asked is that you stayed inside while I went to see my friend for a few hours. When I came home you were gone before I spotted you climbing the trellis, you could have gotten yourself hurt.”

“I… already did. I slipped and fell into your roses, but I'm fine. It was just a few small cuts, I bandaged them up.”

“My roses- Victor. I explained to you why I wanted you to stay inside, must I explain it again? Must I be more blunt? You are not ready, you are barely two months old, you are unstable. All this little act has shown me is that I was right. You refuse to obey even the simplest of commands and I can’t even trust you alone.”

Victor curled up, Adam pulled him closer, tone becoming calmer.

“I know you can do better, you’re a very bright lad. But you need to do a better job in proving it, proving that you won’t get yourself or others hurt by your actions.”

He nodded, thinking to himself as Adam talked.

“No sweets for a week, and no going out into the garden for a while either.”

“Wait, no, you can’t just keep me locked up inside again!”

“Unless I am there besides you, I can’t trust you to be left alone, and even then you still put yourself in danger. Just a few days ago I had to make you spit out a _ worm _ you tried to eat.”

“It was for an experiment.”

“Experiments need a purpose, you cannot go out like a madman and claim that shoving bugs in your mouth is an experiment.”

“And what is the difference between the madness of you creating life and cheating god for the hell of it, and my own experiments?”

“I created you to see if I could help others, save others from fates that took them far too soon. You ate a bug to see why fish liked it. That is not an experiment Victor, that is childish curiosity.”

“I am a child, you created me to be like one! You created me to be this… this… horrid disgusting demon that no one would love, you could have made me perf-”

“How _ dare _ you talk about yourself like that.”

Adam bundled up Victor, holding him close to comfort him. Giving him a moment to let out any pent up feelings. But Adam couldn’t help but take mental notes about this encounter. Once Victor had tired himself out with tears, ranting, and a few pillow hugs, Adam picked him up and took him back up to his room, tucking him into bed. As Victor fell asleep, Adam made his way to his own bedroom, taking his journal down to the laboratory as he took down a few notes.

“_ Victor is still very emotional and unstable, at this current moment I worry I gave him too much freedom far too soon. Though my anxieties about my actions still ring in my ears, reminding me of the affront to God that I had created, there is potential here. He may not live the life of misery I feared I had created for him, but it will take work. It will be a mountain to climb. _

_ My creation is still not human, despite emoting and looking like one, his own insecurities are routed in being inhuman, they are routed entirely in his creation. I will work hard to not allow my anxieties to get the better of me, and I shall do my best to remind myself that I am not his father, I am his creator. He is not my son. _”

Adam waited for the ink on the page to dry before flipping to his original notes, asking himself one thing over and over again. He created this experiment to bring those unjustly killed in life, back. So that they could live the life that was robbed from them, and although he successfully brought someone back from the dead, they were not human in his eyes, and clearly not the same person he found in that graveyard.

Could he bring himself to test it again? Try his hardest to save those lost to the unjust nature of the world? Or would he have to mark the experiment as a failure, and find out how to deal with Victor? Adam truly couldn’t tell, flipping back to his latest entry and making one final note for the night.

“_ It has only been 2 months, it is foolish for me to come to conclusions while the experiment is still in process. Do not lose hope, and do not jump to conclusions. _”

* * *

  
  


The bright sunrise lit up the halls of the Frankenstein villa, and as Adam focused on making breakfast for himself and his creation, Victor was far more focused on a door in the house. He knew two of the doors, one upstairs and one downstairs, were locked for a reason. He knew exactly why as well, and though he had no interest in opening these doors, he couldn’t help but listen in when the muffled sounds of conversation came by. Victor had learnt so much about Adam from listening in, and had even found out a few foul curse words that he was forbidden from using by listening in, so even though he had no interest meeting the people he had listened to, he had no problem eavesdropping.

Today was an interesting talk about a maid in the household who was caught kissing a stable boy, nothing important of course, but a bit of gossip here and there never harmed anyone, right? As Victor leaned against the door, still in his pajamas, he listened to the story, before it was suddenly interrupted by a woman’s voice.

“Sebastian, could you please come with me? I need to talk to my… husband and I would like your company as well.”

“Of course Mrs. Lavenza.”

Before Victor had time to fully comprehend what he had just heard, the sharp click of the lock interrupted his thoughts, as a beautiful woman with golden curls of hair had opened the door, coming face to face with the small creature.

“Oh, and who might you be?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After going through many creative and self struggles I have finally been able to continue this fanfiction. I just want to say, thank you all so much for being so kind and supportive, it makes me feel far more comfortable and welcoming to my writing, and even if I struggle to post regularly, I just want you all to know that I will finish this fanfiction. For both you, and myself, as I want to finally finish a written work like this for once in my life. Please forgive any mistakes or continuity errors, it has been over 6 months since I worked on this chapter and I am not a professional writer. Though I am more confident in my work, I still struggle to read past chapters as mistakes I have missed shine through and I get embarrassed over my writing style.
> 
> There's a lot of foreshadowing in this chapter and little details that will be more important after chapter 9. For now though, we have finally introduced a great character into the story (I am very excited for Elizabeth and Justine) and we are starting to dive more into the struggles between Victor and Adam. Especially Adam's anxieties and dehumanization about Victor, and Victor's inability to face his problems (like how he did in the book. weenie.) and his own insecurities.
> 
> also some gay pining. I can wait to move on from Henry and Victor being called Friends.
> 
> Thank you so much for your support, I hope you all will like this chapter just as much as I enjoyed writing it.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elizabeth finds out about Adam's new ward, and Adam finds out about his feelings towards Victor.
> 
> Content Warning for implied physical abuse. The physical abuse does not actually happen, although originally believed to be.

Eggs sizzled and cracked on the hot frying pan, the morning sun peeked through the windows, and Adam felt himself get lost in thought. He couldn’t help but worry about Victor, or rather his experiment. Was he being too strict? Not strict enough? Did he handle the whole thing wrong? Questions buzzed around in his head, almost distracting enough to burn the eggs. He snapped out of it, moving the luckily-not-burnt eggs to a plate, on top of some toasted bread. Yet as he plated his simple breakfast, footsteps started to come down the stairs, but they were far too many and far too heavy to be just Victor’s. He moved the pan off the heat, and stepped out of the kitchen to find out exactly who was coming down the stairs, and what was going on.

He was greeted with the sight of Elizabeth, her butler, and Victor. A very unwelcome surprise for him.

“Elizabeth! I wasn't expecting to see you today.”

“Ah, Adam. We need to talk, you see I just met your new ward, and I have a few concerns.”

He felt a pit form in his stomach, his throat felt dry, but he did not let his nervousness show. Rarely was Elizabeth this vague, and rarely did she seem so upset. Knowing that she had met Victor, he knew that he couldn’t keep a secret as big as Victor away from Elizabeth. She was far too observant and it would only be so long before Victor or himself slipped up and let his true nature show.

“Sebastian, could you stay with Victor while Elizabeth and I talk? I’d prefer if we were alone. Victor, breakfast is ready and in the kitchen.”

The butler nodded, though he tended to serve and listen to Elizabeth, Adam was still the master of the house. He stayed behind with the creation, who was already heading to the kitchen to get himself some food. Adam and Elizabeth, however, headed down towards the lab in silence. Once the door was shut behind them, the silence was swiftly killed.

“I am giving you one chance to explain yourself, Dr. Frankenstein.”  
  
“I Understand why you’re upset, taking in someone as my ward without telling you-”

“That’s not why I’m upset.” She crossed her arms, staring down Adam. “I come to your side of the manor and I see a boy here, a frightened boy covered in a myriad of cuts and bruises.”

Silence. Adam had to process what he was hearing, the accusation being made against him. Once he realized what she was inferring, he became very defensive and very livid. It was a harsh accusation, not one you could simply brush off.

“You think I did such a thing?!”

“What else am I supposed to believe? You suddenly bring in a boy, tell no one in the entire villa about his existence, and he’s covered in injuries? It is quite suspicious!”

“Elizabeth, you know I would do no such thing.”

“I honestly do not. We are barely more than acquaintances, simple housemates with a facade! You could be raising the dead for all I know. We both have our own lives, our own secrets. How can I trust someone I barely know? ”

Adam fell silent, he had been keeping secrets, just not the ones that Elizabeth accused him of. He grabbed the leather bound notebook, the journal off all his secrets, Adam handed Elizabeth the truth written in ink. “I can not tell you what is worse; the crimes you believe I did, or what I have truly done.”

Her look of anger grew into a look of concern, She flipped through the notebook, skimming the pages in silence, what felt like hours passed in those few minutes. Elizabeth put the book down, covering her mouth in shock.

“Adam, what in God’s name have you done?”

“An experiment. Nothing more.”

“Nothing more?! You created a walking corpse! An undead walking among us!”

“It wasn’t supposed to turn out like this! This entire experiment was about saving lives, but I ended up creating one!”

“Saving lives? What part of any of this saves lives? Raising the dead saves no one, Adam!”

“This experiment was a failure, I was supposed to bring a person back, allow them to go back to their life and continue living as they once did. I was supposed to save those robbed of their lives, but instead I created a devil.”

“It was never your place to defy God, to try to cure death! If you truly believe what you did was a mistake, you would follow your own notes.”

Elizabeth grabbed the notebook off the counter, searching through his notes until she found a specific one, it was about why Victor was so small and weak, in case he ever became a danger to someone else. She handed the notebook over, pointing at his own writing. However, when Adam read it over he felt a wave of guilt. He took the book and flipped through it, reading past notes he had neglected to look over for far too long, slowly taking a seat on his own operating table. Elizabeth took off and nervously fidgeted with her ring, waiting for a response.

“I have gotten attached to him, I read through my old notes and I just… I feel disgusted. I wouldn’t say most of this at all.”

“Not exactly an evil devil, is he?”

“No, he’s not. He’s… a naive and careless creature.”

“He’s... a young boy.”

“Not yet.”

Elizabeth raised her eyebrow, slowly making her way over and sitting down next to him. She leaned up against him. Although she thought her and Adam weren’t friends at all, they shared a very special bond, one built up over years of hiding from the world and supporting each other. This was just another secret to hide from the world, wasn’t it?

“You already know he poses a danger, Adam. If people found out about his origin, all of us, You, me, Justine, all the servants in our very home, Victor; all of us would be arrested, tried, and prosecuted. And those who wouldn’t end up arrested and dead would likely be shamed for the rest of their life.”

“What should I do? I feel as if the weight of the entire world is on my shoulders, as if I am Atlas, holding up the heavens.”

“Well… I believe you should start by figuring out how you feel about Victor, as something is fundamentally wrong with it. If you continue to treat him as a creature instead of a boy, people will eventually notice.”

“Elizabeth… It’s not as if I can simply ignore his origin, where he came from.”

“You don’t have to, just do not let it become the one thing you define him by.”

He leaned back against Elizabeth, emotions and thoughts swirling around in his head. She reached up to fix his ever so messy hair, giving him time to think about what to do, what to say.

“Adam, I think at the very least you should do two things.”

Silence. He gave a simple nod, signalling for her to go on.

“Let him act like a boy his age. He should be allowed to go out and make mistakes.”

“I can’t let him do that yet. He’s not ready to be around other people and it could put us at risk.”

“He’ll never be ready to be around others if you won’t let him be around other people, it’s far more suspicious if you just have a random child constantly locked up in your house.”

“We don’t get that many visitors to really notice…”

“People will notice no matter what. It’s better to at least try to go about life as normal, rather than teaching him that you’re just going to lock him up in an empty house. If it makes you feel any better, I could chaperone him. I know how you feel about going out in public.”

“Having a new ‘assistant’ would just bring more eyes on me.”

“Exactly, I can handle all of that for you.”

“Why would you do such a thing? This is my responsibility.”

“You’re my husband, if you get caught for this, I have to bear the burden of the punishment as well. Besides, I really don’t think any harm can come from giving Victor more support. I’m sure he’d love to see more of the manor, learn all sorts of new things.”

“Oh?”

“As if Justine isn’t going to teach him how to knit, or I won’t let him use the painting supplies whenever he desires.”

“I have been lacking in the arts, I tried teaching him poetry, however what he had written was less than desirable.”

“Has it now?”

“He wrote a poem about how sad it would be to be a frog.”

“Well… it sounds creative.”

“Ask him to read it to you, it’s actually quite charming, albeit very silly.”

“I’ll be sure to keep it in mind.” Elizabeth smiled, trying to imagine the frog poem in her head. “Now, the second thing I must ask you to do is to think more about your feelings towards Victor.”

“I know, I constantly feel as if I am teetering between being a master and a mentor.”

Elizabeth set her ring down on the table, taking a deep breath. “You could try to be both, but all it will do is destroy the relationship you have with him.”

“How do you know that?”

“Do you ever speak to your family? Invite them over for the holidays?”

Adam fell silent once again, taking a moment to think to himself.

“Do you have any plans today?”

“None, why do you ask?”  
  
“Do you think you could show Victor around the rest of the manor? Possibly take him out shopping? I haven’t been able to go take him anywhere so he doesn’t have much in the way of clothes or personal items.”

“I’d be delighted to. Now, let's go back upstairs, we’ve been stuck in this depressing lab for far too long.”

* * *

  
As Victor ate his breakfast, he listened as intently as he could to hear any amount of the conversation going on in the basement. Unfortunately for Victor, one could only hear bits of tone if the two yelled loud enough, and he happened to be biting into toast for most of the shouting match.

He felt his stomach twist and turn, not from breakfast of course, but from the situation. Adam had made it clear many times that Victor was to remain hidden away from people, out of the fear of their secret being discovered, but was it all for nothing? Because a mysterious woman happened to step through the door he liked to listen through? What would happen to them?

Elizabeth's butler noticed his worry, as Victor was not very good at hiding it and attempted to start a conversation with the boy. "Do you have any hobbies or interests you particularly enjoy?" He asked, hoping to help Victor distract himself by focusing on the things he enjoyed; not the conversation going on in the laboratory just below them. The boy thought for a moment, despite the many things he enjoyed to do, he never quite considered them interests. He would like to say that he simply enjoyed science and literature, but that was far too vague. Adam enjoyed science and literature too, but Victor had no interest in the things Adam liked. Medical sciences and anatomy would be fine and good if it wasn't for the disaster, in Victor's eyes, coming out of his studies. More natural sciences focused on the outdoors were far more interesting to him. Being able to go out and discover the world and all it had to offer was far more interesting than studying anatomy and constantly being reminded of everything he hated about himself.

Adam adored writing and reading poetry, whereas Victor found poetry to be alright at best. The newly popular movement known as romanticism was boring and far too flowery for Victor. He didn't need to sit inside and read about the beauty of nature, as he could just step outside and see it for himself. The idea of reading about the artist's feelings in long flowery poetry was a bore, why not experience those feelings for yourself? If he said he was interested in literature, that would include poetry and therefore the recent trend in romanticism; and that just won't do. Gothic literature was far less appealing, and that was what made it so interesting. He enjoyed reading the dark and cruel, a world of fiction and tragedy that although he would never experience, he knew all too well. Adam could spend his time writing love letters to tree stumps and reading about murky ponds, as long as Victor could spend his time reading the tragedy and sorrow that was these fictional and impossible circumstances.

He had spent only a minute at most thinking about it, coming up with his answer.

"I enjoy natural sciences, exploring the world and writing all that you find down. I also enjoy reading Gothic literature."

"What sorts of places do you explore?"

"A little bit of everywhere, very hard to narrow it down."

"Oh? Well then, is there a particular place you like to explore?"

"More natural areas, there's something very relaxing and far more interesting about exploring the wilderness instead of a large house."

As Victor said it out loud, however. He wasn't that sure of his answer. His interests were all over the place and they felt far too vague in his mind, though who could blame him? He was a few months old, and there were so many things to do. So many things to see. It may have been far too vague in his mind, but the truth is that he had to catch up on so many things, that exploring was all he did. He was supposed to be 15, most boys his age had all 15 years to discover their interests and what life had to offer. Victor only had 3 months to catch up on those years.

He had long since forgotten about the conversation he wanted to listen into, only remembering when Elizabeth and Adam came back upstairs. The two of them were shaken up, and they both looked at Victor, trying to figure out what to say. Elizabeth spoke first.

"Victor, since you haven't seen the rest of the house, would you like to come with me? I can give you a tour. Introduce you to my friend, Justine."

"Really? I could have sworn I was grounded."

Adam sighed, not appreciating the snotty comment, but too tired to get upset about it.

"You'll still be in the house, and I trust Elizabeth and Justine to keep you safe."

Victor almost couldn't believe what he was hearing, he got up, picking up his plate to put it in the kitchen before Elizabeth stopped him. "No need, darling. I'll send someone over to handle the mess."

"You actually have maids here?"

"Oh of course, the villa is so large that it's not as if I could keep it clean all on my own."

"So I don't have to worry about cleaning up after myself?"

"Not exactly, No. I would prefer you keep things somewhat tidy, I'm just telling you not to worry about the little things."

Victor was more than excited to not have to clean up after himself as much, though he wouldn't purposely make a mess, it was nice to know that he didn't have to do so many chores in at least one side of the house. He put the plate back down on the table, more focused on getting to know Elizabeth than the plate. 

"First of all, you should go get dressed. I'm not going to take you shopping if you're in your nightshirt."

This was far more exciting than a house tour and not cleaning up a plate. He looked to Adam, waiting for some kind of disapproval, but he said nothing, giving a silent nod to let Victor know this was agreed upon. He quickly rushed upstairs, more excited than he ever could have imagined to do something as mundane as getting dressed in the morning.

Elizabeth turned to Adam, first gesturing for her butler to go back to the other side of the house, handing him an open envelope and an already read letter. "I originally came here to give you this. There's going to be a gala in a few weeks and we're invited."

Adam took the envelope, pulling out the invite and reading it over. "Guess we need to practice our 'happy little couple' facade once again."

"It’s not something I’m looking forward to, but anything to stop any horrible rumors.”

“Recently they’ve been getting worse, I believe we both know why, however.”

It wasn’t long for Victor to rush back down the stairs over to Elizabeth, dressed and ready to go for the day. He was excited to go out for once without sneaking out, and even more excited once Elizabeth called for a carriage. He was so used to walking from the nearby countryside to the heart of Ingolstadt that being able to ride there was practically a blessing in his eyes. As Elizabeth and Victor climbed into the carriage, he noticed something off.

“Wait, you mentioned that I was going to meet someone named Justine? Is she coming with us?”

“Oh no, not today. She wanted time alone, recently she’s been working on a quilt.” Elizabeth signaled for the carriage to go.

“Ah, well I hope I can meet her soon. I think. Haven’t really heard much about her to really build up that hope.”

“That’s not a polite thing to say.”

“Well I’m being honest.”

“Yes, but you shouldn’t be rude when it comes to honesty. There’s always kinder ways to deliver your thoughts.” She reached over to fix up Victor’s hair, pulling back her hand once she realized what she was doing. “Pardon me, force of habit.”

“No, no, it’s quite alright. I don’t mind.”

She reached over to continue fixing it. “Your hair is a little short. It’s not a bad thing, but something about it looks… different.” She noticed some very uneven cuts.

“Oh! It’s because I cut it myself. I hate whenever it gets too long, so I just grab a pair of scissors and fix it myself every now and then.”

“That explains it.”

“Well, I think it looks nice, and so does Henry.”

She finished with his hair. “Oh? Are you talking about Henry Clerval?”

“Of course, he’s my friend.”

“Is he now?”

“Of course! We met a little while back, and he even snuck me out of the villa a few times so we could see each other. He’s such a kind and good friend and I could honestly just sit down in the grass, watch the stars, talk to him forever.”

“Forever?”

“Of course! In a field of lavender, that’s Henry’s favourite flower. I love the smell of it too.”

“It’s very soothing.”

“It is, but for some reason Adam hates the smell of it, it makes him nauseous and ill. Guess it’s not soothing for everyone.”

“Odd, he used to grow lavender along with his other flowers in the garden. Ah, Well different people have different tastes, sometimes they change over time. You know, the way you speak about Henry sounds awfully fond.”

“Well, I’m very fond of him. He’s very kind, a little mischievous, very optimistic, he has a good sense of adventure, very smart-”

“You don’t need to tell me every good trait about him, I’ve met Clerval before.” Elizabeth smiled, knowing what was going on. “It looks to me that you fancy him.”

“What? I clearly do not, we are just very good friends.”

“I said the same thing about Justine, but that didn’t change how I felt about her.”

“I can’t be in love with Henry, we hardly know each other.”

“You know each other enough to be very good friends, why is it so out of the question to hear that it sounds like you feel something more?”

“Well it just isn’t like that. Please stop asking.”

“Ah, my apologies, I won’t ask about it again.”

Elizabeth looked out the window, watching the empty countryside slowly become overshadowed by buildings upon buildings. “We’re here, come along now.” Elizabeth hailed the carriage, stepping out along with Victor. He offered her his arm, partially to be polite, as well as to not risk getting separated.Although he was shorter than her, the difference in height was nowhere near as extreme as Adam and himself. Allowing Elizabeth and Victor to walk with little problem.

Although just that morning Elizabeth and Victor were complete strangers, over just one day they became friends, a very sibling-like bond. The two shopped the whole day away, and though Elizabeth would claim otherwise, she ended up using the shopping trip as a way to spoil Victor. Starting with new clothes fitted to him as his old wardrobe was primarily decently fitting clothes and quite a few hand-me-downs. Lots of personal books, after all Adam’s library didn’t have everything, why not get a book or two on Entomology? Oh of course there was no harm in getting a few board games as well, after all every teenage boy needs their own backgammon board. Before Victor’s room in the manor felt like an empty guest room, because that was what it once was of course, but after that day Victor was not only able to create his own space, but was able to make a friend. 

Of course, one cannot spend the whole day away shopping and spoiling the boy, and eventually they must return home. On the carriage ride home, Victor tiredly rested his head on Elizabeth’s lap. Overwhelmed from the sights, sounds, and constant walking; he took a moment to rest his head. She didn’t mind, of course. Gently petting his hair as they rode home, watching the scenery out the window as they returned to the villa. The orange and brown grass bundling up and getting ready for the night frost, the leaves dancing in the wind. It was growing closer and closer to winter, and as November was soon coming to an end, December would be bringing freshly fallen snow, and new troubles ahead.

As Elizabeth and Victor brought in the wrapped gifts and packages they had gotten, with the help of some household servants of course, something suddenly dawned upon the blonde haired woman. The simple wedding ring she wore was gone.

“Victor, I believe I left a ring of mine in the lab after Adam and I’s… discussion. Could you go get it for me? I can handle your packages.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to leave all this work behind…”

“It’s fine. I can handle it, just please get my ring.”

Victor handed off the box he was holding to Elizabeth, rushing towards the side doors that lead to Adam’s side of the house. Elizabeth took the packages inside, before realizing what else he could find in the lab. Worry started to overtake her and she started to regret not asking Adam for her ring. Through the entryway, around the hallways, and down the steps, He went down to the lab, looking for the golden ring Elizabeth had asked for, finding it beside something else. Adam’s lab notes and journal he had been keeping throughout the experiment. Though Victor knew this information was private, he couldn’t help but get curious. What was in this journal? He knew that most of it would be basic notes about how he was created and his progress throughout the months, but there had to have been more, and Victor couldn’t help but want to read it. It wouldn’t hurt to take a peak, right? He opened up the journal, flipping specifically to the entries and the notes.

  
  


_ It has been one week since I brought Victor to life. _

As he read, he felt his heart sink and his mind fill with thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took quite a while to do! Partially because getting the motivation to write is very difficult for me, I struggle to just write a consistent word count in multiple days because once my mind is in the mood to write, I feel the need to just pump out a whole chapter in one sitting. This chapter was so big however, it took me multiple chapter pumps to get it done.
> 
> Also, Made of Clay is over 1 year old now!! How exciting! I honestly didn't think I would still be in goth lit for this long and that it would be such a prominent and long standing special interest for me, guess that's what makes the interest so special!  
I only have 3 more chapters planned for Made of Clay and they get far more intense and upsetting from here, I feel like in the world of fanfiction others don't always give heads up to more angsty and upsetting parts, however I can't help but feel inclined to give you all a warning when things are gonna get a little intense. I just hope I set up patterns or little tidbits that will make the next few chapters feel very in character. I don't want what's coming to feel out of left field.
> 
> But at this point I feel like i'm talking more about my insecurities about my writing and my fear of rejection rather than the story. I think this is going to be the final warning I give for the rest of the story. I think the tags and my other notes have made it clear right now:
> 
> The characters aren't in healthy relationships. They need to learn how to fix that and grow.
> 
> anyways, enough of me beating a dead horse, I'm far more excited over getting this chapter done and the birthday of my best and longest running fanfiction!!


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